RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS
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PERSUADER – Necromancy
The band Persuader, which hails from Sweden, offers pummeling and aggressive power metal with crushing riffs, excellent vocals, and more bombast that you can probably stomach. This is some hard-hitting yet melodically good stuff with a sharp edge and a massively epic atmosphere to it. "Necromancy" is by no means original, but it is effective…
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PALACE – Rock and Roll Radio
The Swedish entity Palace is back with a new record and as with the previous one we are talking uplifting and spirited melodic (hard) rock with a radio-friendly vibe and a rather slick feel to it. Mastermind Michael Palace has a knack for writing polished AOR-influenced tunes that immediately stick to one’s memory and in…
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GODSEND – As The Shadows Fall
When do legends take their form? Could you have predicted that Charles Michael Schuldiner would grow into a songwriting, lyrical, and guitar giant just judging by the decent but spotty Death’s debut "Scream Bloody Gore", with insightful lyrics about sacrificing female most private body parts to stave off the zombie apocalypse? What about Pantera, 3…
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UNRULY CHILD – Our Glass House
Let it be known that yours truly is quite fond of AOR stalwarts Unruly Child and it is great to see that these skilled musicians have been as creative and productive as they have these past few years. Having said that, their previous offering (”Big Blue World” from 2019) was mediocre at best and lacked…
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MEER – Playing House
The musically daring and innovative Norwegian outfit named MEER will soon release this sophomore effort of theirs, and there is a lot to look forward to if you fancy immersing yourself in an original and eclectic mixture of prog rock, (symphonic) pop, and (experimental) rock music. There is a surreal and dreamlike quality to this…
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JEFF SCOTT SOTO – Wide Awake (in My Dreamland)
The talented Jeff Scott Soto’s latest solo record titled "Wide Awake (in My Dreamland)" consists of eleven melodic hard rock tunes that boast great hooks, big riffs, and even bigger choruses. Jeff’s ability to compose an infectious song is as prominent as ever here and this crisp, good-sounding LP is pretty damn solid all the…
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AMAHIRU – Amahiru
The international ensemble that is Amahiru, which includes the talented bass player Frédéric Leclercq (Kreator) in its ranks, recently released this musically intriguing 12-track record and offers an exciting blend of melodic heavy metal and power metal. As the name of the band and the song titles suggest, there is an exotic, Eastern-tinged aura to the…
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DEPRAVITY – Grand Malevolence
"Evil Upheaval" (2018) was one hell of a death metal album and and not just in a colloquial sense. It thundered through the scene of Morbid Angel, Hate Eternal, Immolation, Nile and ancient Death lovers heralding the arrival of a new sheriff in town, as flawed as the debut album was. Depravity, a Perth, Western…
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FALSE GODS – No Symmetry…Only Disillusion
Few bands can boast of invention in the post-hardcore/sludge metal scene. Arguably, latter Prong and early Mastodon had sealed the deal long before it was even called a contest so chances are we’re dealing with more or less of a derivative. Having said that, the New Yorkers False Gods (who remind me of the now…
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ORIANTHI – O
Skilled guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Orianthi’s (ex-Alice Cooper) latest album offers plenty of massive, stadium-sized riffs, infectious melodies, and more vocal hooks than yours truly can possibly count, and there is a sharp, modern edge to this contemporary-sounding hard rock output. The result is also quite varied and you get mellow ballads that serve as a good contrast…
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SARCOPTES – Plague Hymns
Sarcoptes, named after a genus of mites, is a black/death metal duo of Sean Zimmerman (bass, guitars, keyboards) and Garrett Garvey (drums, vocals) from Sacramento, California, a consistent lineup since its inception in 2008 through "Thanatos" EP (2013) and the debut full length, "Songs And Dances Of Death" (2016), the former released independently and the…
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HATEFUL – Set Forever on Me
A while ago I reviewed "Condemnation", the third album from Italian deathsters Valgrind whose guitarist, vocalist and bassist, Daniele Lupidi, happens to be also the same trimaster in the technical death metal band Hateful with "Set Forever On Me" also a 3rd installment. You’d think with the same main songwriter in both bands they would…
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TARJA – From Spirits and Ghosts + Christmas Together (Reissue/Expanded)
Tarja Turunen’s (ex-Nightwish) latest offering is a 2CD set containing a reissue/expanded edition of her "From Spirits and Ghosts (Score for a Dark Christmas)" from 2017 and then a second disc consisting of a previously unreleased live performance culled from last year, and the whole thing is generally quite moving and beautiful thanks to its…
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FIRES IN THE DISTANCE – Echoes From Deep November
Fires In The Distance, the name almost certainly inspired by Dark Tranquillity’s 2012 "Zero Distance" EP, is a Connecticut melodic doom/death quartet comprised of Kristian Grimaldi (guitars, vocals), Yegor Savonin (guitars, synths), Craig Breitsprecher (bass, vocals) and Kyle Quintin (drums), but, even though it is a brand new band with a debut album, 3 out…
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LORDS OF BLACK – Alchemy of the Souls Part I
Although a collective of incredibly skilled musicians, the Spanish act Lords of Black has failed to impress me earlier on and their previous records always struck me as being somewhere between slightly above average and mildly entertaining. However, the outfit’s latest album, "Alchemy of Souls Part I", is much better all-around than its predecessors and…
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ANGELICA – All I Am
Angelica’s new record entitled "All I Am" offers melodic rock/AOR with a modern sheen to it and it comes across as a fresh and current-sounding affair in many ways, but frankly, it is also quite predictable and unexciting. Its main problem is that it is rather generic and somewhat derivative with respect to its melodies…
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PSYCROPTIC – The Watcher Of All
The West Hobart, Tasmania-based Aussie technical death metallers were completely unknown to me prior to the excellent 4th album "Ob(Servant)" (2008), that is, 9 years after their conception. The first two albums: "The Isle Of Disenchantment" (2001) and "The Sceptre Of The Ancients" (2003) were independently released by a consistent lineup of Matthew Chalk (vocals),…
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MARK KELLY’S MARATHON – Mark Kelly’s Marathon
Marillion keyboardist Mark Kelly surely needs no introduction and this grand musical solo adventure of his is quite something. With an extraordinarily talented line-up and ten amazingly heartfelt compositions with an almost understated sense of beauty and grace to them, this self-titled offering is one of those unique releases where one can just sit back…
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ETERNAL IDOL – Renaissance
The Italian symphonic power metal outfit known as Eternal Idol is back with another bombastic full-length offering and a new line-up, and I must say that they sound rejuvenated and re-energized here. Boasting ten epic compositions filled with soaring vocals, massive riffs, and slightly somber melodies, “Renaissance” packs a punch and leaves very little to…
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REB BEACH – A View From the Inside
”A View from the Inside” by the incredibly skilled Whitesnake/Winger guitarist Reb Beach was quite a surprise to me and a lovely one at that. Why is that? Well, for one thing I did not know that he was about to launch a new solo record, but secondly, this is essentially an instrumental album that…
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SNOWY WHITE AND THE WHITE FLAMES – Something on Me
Former Thin Lizzy guitar slinger Snowy White impressed me greatly with his exquisitely crafted record titled ”The Situation” last year, and so naturally, I was really excited about this latest musical venture of his into the land of the blues. In terms of style and atmosphere, ”Something on Me” closely resembles its predecessor, and one…
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SCOUR – Black
Yous truly is rather fond of the two previous releases by US black metallers Scour, namely the two EPs entitled "Grey" (2016) and "Red" (2017) respectively, and this third and latest little gem of theirs appropriately named "Black" is quite the sick fucker and as wildly aggressive as it is superbly arranged. As with its…
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MORS PRINCIPIUM EST – Seven
Having been a reviewer for over 13 years I am aware of how one’s ability to objectively assess a given album increases with time, including the ability to look back on past scores and wince in disbelief. It’s easy to pick those moments when we have overrated an album, harder, when we’ve underrated it. For…
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HATEBREED – Weight Of The False Self
James Vincent "Jamey Jasta" Shanahan is an interesting if a controversial figure in American metalcore. Much like Philip Hansen Anselmo, over the course of his musical career, because he is a bald screaming white hardcore right-winger, he has been accused of homophobia and xenophobia, and is supposed to be easily prone to violence. However, while…
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SCATTERFACE – 2020
The German-based Scatterface dabbles in a mixture of synth wave, electro pop/rock, and industrial rock/metal, and this record of his, which is simply entitled ”2020”, is essentially a solo output albeit one that features several appearances by musicians and singers from around the world. How does the project fare then? Honestly, not that well. The…
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SODOM – Genesis XIX
As of 2022, Germany’s Sodom will officially be 40 years old, with legendary frontman Tom Angelripper a year shy of his 60th birthday. This information, whilst a testament to the band’s longevity, is also mind-boggling when listening to their new album, the absolutely devastating ‘Genesis XIX’, because it has the energy of a band 30…
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DARK TRANQUILLITY – Moment
"There comes a point in life – a moment – when your mind outlives its desires, its obsessions, when your habits survive your dreams, and when your losses… Maybe death is a gift" – says Kevin Spacey as David Gale in "The Life Of David Gale" (2003). The Swedish melodic death metallers Dark Tranquillity (DT)…
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THANATEROS – Insomnia
The German act named Thanateros is an intriguing and interesting one. With a strong and prevalent emphasis on atmosphere and gloom, these guys draw on a myriad of different musical influences and this 17-track effort (the special edition contains four bonus cuts) of theirs is damn-near impossible to pigeonhole or classify. How about dark hard…
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CELESTIAL SEASON – The Secret Teachings
When discussing my review of Thurisaz’ excellent "Re-Incentive" album, Viral Propaganda PR’s David recommended the new Celestial Season’s release "The Secret Teachings". Now, I had never heard about these Nijmegen, Gelderland, Dutchmen before so I happily took advantage of the opportunity to familiarize myself with the recording. The occasion turned out to be threefold as…
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BESTIAL WARFARE – Desecrating Goat Assault
The German sickos Bestial Warfare churn out raw and fierce black/death metal from the vilest pit of the hellish underground and this upcoming 5-track EP of theirs is as insane as they come. The sound and style of this cursed thing is not altogether that different to what acts such as Blasphemy, Conqueror, Impiety, Revenge,…